What researchers found about recovery after training

Why recovery became a science

Training is only half the story. The other half happens afterwards, when the body repairs and adapts.

Coaches already use plenty of tools – ice baths, massage, compression kit, stretching. But a Brazilian sports science team pointed out that “there is no consensus on the most suitable method,” and that some options “may be very uncomfortable, require specific and expensive equipment and not completely cover the damaged area.” That’s the gap far-infrared and PEMF researchers have been exploring.

Most of these studies use a clever trick: they give volunteers a workout designed to make them sore – 100 drop-jumps, a hilly simulated trail run, hard biceps work – then compare recovery with and without the technology. The soreness that peaks a day or two later has a name: delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.

Soreness: the clearest signal

If one result keeps turning up, it’s this: people who had far-infrared or PEMF reported their soreness easing faster.

Far-infrared clothing. Elite young footballers in Brazil slept three nights in far-infrared or placebo clothing after 100 drop-jumps. The researchers concluded that “FIR clothes may reduce perceived DOMS after an intense plyometric session performed by soccer players.” Loturco et al., 2016

Far-infrared lying down. Well-trained runners in Paris who had 30 minutes on a far-infrared table found their pain sensation had eased by 48 hours after a hard trail run – something resting alone didn’t achieve. Hausswirth et al., 2011

PEMF. In Seoul, students who had PEMF after a hard arm workout recovered faster on perceived soreness than those given a sham session. Jeon et al., 2015 And in Turkey, three days of PEMF after drop-jumps beat a sham treatment on soreness, movement and blood markers of muscle damage. Oymak Soysal et al., 2026

Spring in the legs

Soreness is how recovery feels. Jumping is one of the ways scientists measure it – a quick check of how fresh the legs really are.

In Finland, men who spent 30 minutes in a far-infrared sauna after a maximal treadmill session jumped higher at the 30-minute mark than after rest (0.34 m against 0.32 m). At the University of Notre Dame in the USA, recreationally active adults who wore far-infrared tights after a resistance workout jumped higher and took off faster 48 hours later than a placebo group – and 54% of participants felt they had recovered more with the far-infrared garment, against 18% who preferred the placebo.

Strength is a different story. In the Seoul PEMF trial and the Brazilian far-infrared trial, strength was similar with and without the technology – the soreness changed, the peak force didn’t. In Paris, far-infrared runners got their strength back within 24 hours, while resting alone hadn’t restored it by 48.

Comfort and calm

Recovery isn’t only about muscles. The Finnish sauna team were struck by how gentle far-infrared felt compared with a traditional sauna at the same temperature: heart rate afterwards was 71 beats a minute against 92.

The Paris runners reported better well-being 48 hours after their run when they had used far-infrared. And a 2025 review of heat after exercise noted that the extra work heat asks of the heart doesn’t linger: “it seems that parasympathetic reactivation occurs soon after heating” – in plain English, the body’s rest-and-digest mode returns soon after the warmth ends.

Timing matters

A thread runs through several papers: when you recover may matter as much as how.

The Brazilian footballers didn’t put their far-infrared clothing on straight away – they waited six hours, then wore it overnight. A review of far-infrared garments spotted a pattern across studies: “it seems that the longer the exposure duration to FIR, the greater the benefits on various markers of recovery, and all the more when the exposure is delayed after exercise.” Bontemps et al., 2021

For heat in general, the Finnish–Swedish review found that “improved physical performance is most likely to be seen immediately after exposure to heat,” and advised that “the objectives and timing of post-exercise heat interventions should be carefully considered.” Ahokas et al., 2025

The bigger picture

Not every study is a win, and the researchers say so themselves. In Paris, three sessions in a −110°C cryotherapy chamber restored strength faster than far-infrared did. The review of 14 heat-after-exercise studies found four with a benefit, four with no difference and one with a downside, and concluded that “no definitive consensus can be drawn” yet. The PEMF reviewers in Bologna call their field “promising” but say that “extensive research is necessary to fully harness its potential.”

That’s what an active, growing area of science looks like: clear signals on how people feel, intriguing results on performance, and researchers keen to find the best recipe.

The Brazilian team made a point any club owner will appreciate. Recovery that fits around training is recovery people actually do:

These studies used research saunas, garments and PEMF devices, not Omnion™, so results with Omnion™ may differ. Omnion™ is a wellness product, not a medical device.